In preparation for the Canadian premiere – and new VO production – of John Adams’s modern masterpiece Nixon in China, Vancouver Opera presents a series of free and ticketed community engagement events.

Exploring the historic 1972 meeting between Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong, the opera it inspired, and the establishment of the Chinese community in Vancouver, this series will engage the mind and imagination through music, history, politics and film.

VO will collaborate with other arts, cultural, and social organizations to present this major series of events, running until March 2010. For up-to-the-minute details on these events, visit VO’s Nixon in China blog.

The Vancity Theatre and VO present a special free screening of Oliver Stone's 1995 film Nixon and introductory remarks and a Q & A Session with Professor Paul J. Quirk, Phil Lind Chair in US Politics and Representation at UBC.

Seating is limited. Free tickets will be available at the door ($2 required VIFF membership available at the door).

This special event kicks off a series of co-presentations between Vancouver Opera and the Vancity Theatre. Look for more Vancouver Opera film events at the Vancity Theatre in the spring.

Tickets from $20. Online at Ticketmaster or call 604-280-4444For more information, click here.

The Canadian premiere of John Adams's newly completed chamber piece ("riveting and full of surprises" said the Los Angeles Times), plus Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony Op. 9 and the world premiere of a new chamber concerto by John Oliver.

This concert is co-presented with Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

Inside the Music of John AdamsTuesday, March 2nd7:00pmVancouver Academy of Music1270 Chestnut Street, VancouverFree Admission

An exploration of the music and career of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams. Presenters include writer and educator Thomas May, editor of The John Adams Reader, and conductor John DeMain, who conducted the original 1987 production of Nixon in China.

Explore the history of the Chinese in Vancouver, with emphasis on the Chinese communities' emergence and development since 1972, the year of Nixon's momentous trip to China. Discover how our city has been shaped and transformed by Chinese culture over the past 38 years. Moderated by esteemed China scholar Dr. Jan Walls. Speakers include eminent architect Bing Thom, UBC historian Henry Yu, and filmmaker Colleen Leung.

Presented in partnership with the Vancouver Public Library. Opera Speaks @ VPL is sponsored by Omni BC Diversity Television.

An intimate encounter with acclaimed Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan and journalist and filmmaker Alexandre Trudeau (son of Pierre Ellliott Trudeau) as they take us behind the headlines of history. Hosted by Hal Wake, Artistic Director of Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival.

Presented in partnership with Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival.

Margaret MacMillan in conversation with Eleanor WachtelWednesday, March 17th7:30pmGranville Island StageTickets: $18. On sale Friday, January 22 online at VancouverTix or call 604-629-8849.

Margaret MacMillan talks with celebrated interviewer Eleanor Wachtel, host of CBC Radio’s “Writers and Company” about her most recent book The Uses and Abuses of History and her earlier chronicle Nixon in China: The Week that Changed the World.

Presented in partnership with Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival.